Once again, the Georgia Way is under attack.

You wonder how long everyone in Butts-Mehre can stick to Michael Adams’ legacy drug policy when current trends are turning against it.

At least one-third of the Power Five conference schools are not punishing athletes as harshly as they were 10 years ago for testing positive for marijuana and other so-called recreational drugs, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.

The NCAA last year cut in half the penalty for athletes who fail screenings for substances like marijuana at its championship events…

The AP found that some of the nation’s biggest universities, from Oregon to Auburn, have already eased their punishments as society’s views on marijuana use have changed. Marijuana use among U.S. adults has doubled over a decade, according to government surveys, and recreational use is now legal in four states.

How fast is this running away from the crusaders in Athens?  This fast:

The NCAA has been randomly testing athletes at its championship events and football bowl games for performance enhancing and recreational drugs since 1986. In 2014, the penalty for testing positive at either of those events for a recreational drug such as marijuana was reduced from a suspension of one year to six months.

Now NCAA chief medical officer Dr. Brian Hainline wants to end NCAA testing for recreational drugs.

Hainline said the NCAA should focus on catching cheaters who gain a competitive advantage by using performance-enhancing drugs…

Man, if you’ve lost the NCAA on being vindictive, you’re really out there on a limb.

Of course, you’ve still got that smug feeling of moral superiority to keep you warm at night, don’t you?  Um, well…

“If we’re going to test at championship events for things that are illegal, then we shouldn’t just test for pot,” Hainline said. “If there are any kids under the age of 18 smoking cigarettes, we should test for that. We certainly should be testing for alcohol for everyone under the age of 21. Then we ask ourselves, `Where does the moral authority stop?’ I’m all for moral authority as long as there is a philosophical consistency to it.”

Philosophical consistency in college athletics?  BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  Oh wait… you were serious about that?

If Georgia announces its annual intention to make an issue out of a uniform drug policy for the conference when the SEC has its spring meeting next year, I hope somebody invites Dr. Hainline to speak there.

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UPDATE:  You can find a school-by-school breakdown of drug policies here.

21 Comments

Filed under Crime and Punishment, Georgia Football, The NCAA

21 responses to “Once again, the Georgia Way is under attack.

  1. Looks like Cojones finally gets to burn his “medical” redshirt. Put him in Coach!

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  2. Bright Idea

    “If you play for Georgia you will not smoke dope.” I’m old fashioned but I like that. I don’t want a bunch of guys who like dope more than football because it will cost you wins in the long run as much as or more than suspensions will.

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    • DCBasham

      Then you also like and can live with losing to schools with a more lenient drug policy. In my opinion, it’s time to wake up and step into the 21st century.

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      • Bright Idea

        Won’t ever like losing but if a kid would rather smoke dope than play football for Georgia let him go to Auburn or Ole Piss and I’ll live with it. I already am.

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    • PTC DAWG

      If it costs wins in football, why have our rivals in the SEC with more lenient drug policies won more championships since we got “tougher” on drugs?

      I’ll hang up and listen.

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    • Semper Fi Dawg

      @Bright Idea; GET OFF MY LAWN

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    • DawgByte

      You might want to rethink that position. You’re on a web site filled libtards who will accuse you of being too “1956ish” – one of their favorite non-sequiturs.

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    • “If you play for Georgia then you’ll worship Jesus.”

      “If you play for Georgia then you’ll wear pleated khakis and buttoned up shirts tucked in.”

      “If you play for Georgia then you’ll only listen to 50’s country and George Strait.”

      Just curious how far you can extend your own morals and preferences in your expectations of what a Georgia player should and shouldn’t do.

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  3. Normaltown Mike

    legalize it

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    • Dolly Llama

      See, I see your comment here and Bright Idea’s directly above it and realize this conversation is the very definition of a “non-starter.” There is no compromise to be reached there.

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      • Macallanlover

        But the reason the policy was instituted was to be consistent with societal norms so with four states currently legalizing marijuana, and more soon to follow, it only makes sense that the bar be adjusted. I don’t disagree that a bunch of college age players sitting around daily inhaling a substance that alters thinking isn’t problematic, I do fear the habitual users are heading down a slippery slope, but I also feel there should be a level playing field nationally, and an adjustment made to how punishments are set. No easy answers here but UGA seems to be the most out of step and has paid a price for that relative to our competitors.

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  4. old dog

    I’m not always glad to see UGA sprint to occupy the moral high ground before someone else gets there first…I think there was an over reaction to the recreational drug issue by former president Adams…Geez, he even went after the WLOCP in Jacksonville and that’s mostly legal alcohol.

    UGA also bent over backwards after the Jan Kemp mess…sometimes I don’t like the Georgia Way of obsessing about what everybody else might think so we have to go one better…our competitors must think we’re nuts….

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  5. AlumniDawg

    I just wish there was consistency. You have UGA that punishes at first offense and teams like UF that don’t punish until the offender has committed his 4th felony.

    I also favor ban on schools picking up a player that has been dismissed from a team for a felony. There should be at least a one year ban. You know, the Auburn Way.

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  6. The Dawg abides

    If the NCAA stops testing for recreational drugs, then I hope we would stop with random testing also. Just have a policy for athletes who get arrested for possession, if BM feels the for any disciplinary actions. It’s like Bobby Bowden said a few years ago- if you don’t want your players to test positive for pot, then don’t test them.

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  7. GaskillDawg

    The concern about the effects to the college children from the dangers of recreational pot use is so self righteous. The NCAA sits by as coaches want to balloon teenaged kids into 340 pounders. The effect upon the young men from stop playing at age 23 while carrying all that weight is terrible for their ling term health.

    Neither the NCAA and UGA has any concern about that effect on the kids’ health. Hypocrites.

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